When Rachel Adams' father disappears, she is determined to go after him, even if it means breaking every rule and defying every authority. Her efforts catch the eye of the city's cruel ruler, the Commander, who grants Rachel permission to search the unprotected Wasteland beyond the city walls for her father. Her father's apprentice Logan convinces the Commander to allow him to accompany her; though Rachel is sure of her skills, Logan is all too well aware of the dangers that lurk along the roads and beneath the ground of the Wasteland.



But the Wasteland is not the only place where dangers hide beneath the surface. Rachel was meant to be the Commander's pawn, her compliance bought by his relentless cruelty. But Rachel has never been like other girls. In the crucible of Baalboden, she has been transformed from a courier's daughter into a deadly weapon and she and Logan have forged a bond that even the Commander's iron fist cannot break.